Jamaica smiles again as McLeod wins gold in London

Omar McLeod brought the smile back to Jamaican sprinting as he powered to the 110 metres hurdles title at the World Athletics Championships on Monday before dedicating his triumph to Usain Bolt.Following the shock defeats of Bolt and Elaine Thompson in the 100 metres events, McLeod, another overwhelming race favourite from the Caribbean island, made no mistake as he added the world crown to the Olympic title he won last year.The 23-year-old dominated the race, winning in 13.04 seconds, a metre clear of the defending champion Sergey Shubenkov, the Russian who was competing as an ‘authorised neutral athlete’ with his country’s federation still banned from international athletics.“It was a pressure and I had to channel it into a positive way. The Jamaican camp was really daunting, and I took it upon myself. I really wanted to bring that spark back honestly and I really wanted to come out and win. and I especially wanted to dedicate this win to Usain Bolt’s retirement,” he said afterwards.Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon added the world title to her Olympic gold when she won a superb women’s 1,500 metres final in a white-hot London Stadium atmosphere on Monday, judging her charge to perfection and holding off the field.Kipyegon, silver medallist two years ago, took up the running with 600 to go and was stride for stride with in-form Sifan Hassan until the Dutchwoman faded while the Kenyan stayed strong to cross the line in four minutes 2.59 seconds.Yulimar Rojas claimed Venezuela’s first-ever World Athletics Championships title when she won the women’s triple jump by two centimetres from great rival Caterine Ibarguen in a see-saw battle on Monday.The 21-year-old’s win came one day after the South American country won their first medal of any colour when Robeilys Peinado took the bronze in the women’s pole vault.“What great pride to see the victory of our Yulimar Rojas, a glorious athlete of the golden generation,” tweeted Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, whose country is embroiled in an economic and constitutional crisis. Colombian Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk destroyed the opposition to win a third hammer throw world title despite suffering from a broken finger and cramps at the World Championships on Monday.The 31-year-old had been the one to beat going into the competition. With two Olympic titles to her name, the world record holder has not been beaten since early 2014.After a slow start, she took the lead on her fourth throw at the London Stadium, with a 77.39 metres effort, and wrapped up the gold with 77.90.with Reuters